Reveling in a turnout that began as hundreds and swelled into at least a thousand protesters, Recreate ’68 members naysayed those who said that the event would go bust with small turnouts and a lack of speakers.

“People seemed to think of us like they think of cockroaches,” Mark Cohen, Recreate ’68 member, said to the crowd. “They weren’t happy for us to be here. But we’re still here.”

Prior to the march through Denver to the Pepsi Center, Recreate ’68 hosted a carousel of speakers on the west steps of the Capitol this morning. The list of speakers included the likes of highly respected veteran and American activist Ron Kovic, author of “Born on the Fourth of July,” to infamous and highly controversial figures like Ward Churchill.

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Generally, the voices booming out from the Capitol spoke at length against corporations and that electing a Democrat as opposed to a Republican wasn’t going to better represent the American people or end foreign occupation.

“The Convention is being sponsored by AT&T,” said Cindy Sheehan, famed anti-war activist. “Who do you think they represent?”

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

The rhetorical question, implying that Democrats and Republicans alike operate in the interest of big corporations, was repeated many times throughout the speaking engagements to cheers from the crowd.

The speaking engagements reached their highest and most interesting fervor when African-American Green Party candidates Cynthia McKinney, for president, and Rosa Clemente, for vice president, took the stage.